Stop Looking At Those Numbers On The Scale!

Yeahh, I got tired hearing my female friends complaining about their weights and they are just looking fine. Numbers on the scale don't represent anything. I told them what matter is whether you girls are healthy. Seriously, I have a friend who is fairly skinny but her cholesterol level is very high. Your appearance is not based on the numbers on the scale.

What really matter is you girls being healthy and happy. Stop worrying the numbers on the scale. Go to the gym, eat right, be happy, and have enough rest.

Gym Walking Time : Celebrity Fitness Gandaria City

I know...I have been very lazy and busy to post in this blog. But it doesn't mean that I'm putting away my health conscious. My love for gym hasn't faded yet. As matter of fact, couple weeks ago, me and my friends went to the grand opening of Celebrity Fitness' new branch at Gandaria City. It was great fun. The pictures above are hip hop performances by the instructors. *Love y'all* Thanks for bringing the hip hop to the gym !





Of course, because I'm a big fan of Celebrity Fitness, I have to try and give a little visit. Since it's not far from Pondok Indah Mall branch and my house. About the club itself, it's nice good ambiance. The layout of aerobic studio is quite bad, I don't know what are the pillars doing in the studio. They only make the studio small. The floor is not really good for dancing.

However, the good part is the location. The mall itself is pretty attractive, lots of eateries,department store and theater. So, it won't be boring to wait for the classes.

Gym Walking : Special Class @ Celebrity Fitness Central Park

stolen presents

Yaaayyy...I'm very happy to have special Christmas class all the way at Central Park. What was the special class? It's 2.5 hours of dance class!! How fun is that!! With my awesome dance mate Mega, we traveled all the way to western part of Jakarta. But it was all worth of time and effort. The class was very awesome, the energy was great..and we didn't forget to take pictures ( although all of them are taken before and after the class )...overall it's a very happy gym moment.

Locker's poser

Happy Christmas

Big time posers 3

Big time posers 2

big time posers 1

before the class

After all that fun at Central Park, I can't wait for the next special New Year class next week!! Same place and same time.

Always Workout Always Happy

Having my plates, bar, step ready for my Body Pump class

Yeaappp!!! Working out is always been my one of best ways to let the sorrow away. I have had just recovered from another painful breakup ( with the same guy !! he always a cheater and a liar ). Again and as always I go to the gym, work out and join dance classes. Like in these photos below, proof that I don't sit around, sobbing, regretting what that ***hole had done to me. NOO!! I get up, and go to the gym! You will never regret yourself for having great passion in fitness.

Posing before the class

Almost time for Body Pump!

New Gym Routine

Now since I'm working in the same area as my gym, I have a gym routine now. If usually I go to the gym in the afternoon after work. Now, I'm doing it in the morning. Quite hard in the beginning, because my body was not just to it. But after for few days, I get the hang of it. Enjoying working out in the morning. I have lost another 2kg of body fat.

Yaayyy...good for me!

It's New Year Already ( For Me )

loving my new hair!! but it's not the only one that change!

2010 ends in just 42 days, but I'm feeling New Year already. It's all brand new me. From new hairdo, new opportunities ahead, working in new place, new routine, new perspective and perhaps ( hopefully ) a new boyfriend, new body ( I'm working out a lot harder these days with new program ). Whatever happening in my life right now are brand new me.

After the storm, I had ( my fiance is having an affair ), my life is totally changing. I don't know the God's plan for me, but I handled my problem very well. Of course there was emotion involved. With God's help, I'm moving on.

The exciting news is, my work is very very close to my gym! How cool is that. I wanted this thing to happen.
So, like I said, it's New Year already FOR ME!! And I hope for the people out there. No need to wait until 2011 to make changes. Changes can start anytime.

Give It Up To My Man....EMINEM!!

Yeapp...HOLLA at Eminem! I love his come back album and being mature in his raps. It's all started on one boring morning and was watching MTV and there it was his "Not Afraid" video played.

Somehow like magic, it really moved me. That moment my whole life was falling apart. My fiance ( now ex fiance aka John Tucker ) is being a total jerk, I'm glad I made it through the storms he's been giving me.

Well, anyway, let's get back to Eminem now. Since his songs are in iPod and I keep listening to them while working out. The energy is huge, I feel the power running through vein listening to his music. What do you know, when I use to listen to up beat music for exercise and turn out rap can be motivating music. My weight training is improving, my muscle mass increased. I feel so GREAT!!

One of The Best Treasures : FRIENDS

High on green tea...hahahahahahahah......

Just empty wine bottle...Love my gal Mega for her craziness

Outside the restaurant

The whole gang!!!

The pictures above are me with my gym friends, my dance friends to be specific. Dance unite us together and we become family. I love being with them, I treasure my moments with them. With them it's always filled with laughter. Special thanks for Hamdi Fabas who has been so patient teaching us breakdance moves.

Jakarta in Gridlock

Photo taken in Jl.Antasari at 4 PM, flood everywhere, we were stuck in the same street for 3 hours.

Yesterday, the traffic in Jakarta was like hell! Flood almost in the main streets and caused huge traffic jam until midnight. My plans to give tutorial, then gym, then meeting old friend at FX were all canceled.

The heavy rain didn't stop for 3 hours. The Mother Nature really cried, pouring all her sadness to Jakarta. I was still lucky that my sister came to my house and gave me ride to my student's house. On the way there, we thought the rain would be like 10-15 minutes tops. Because that's been happening recently. So we were positive, nothing to worry about. Well..it didn't.....

Traffic was totally a huge gridlock!! For 45 minutes we didn't move a single inch. Took us nearly 2 hours for distance just 1 km. Many sedan cars pull over, because of the flood.

In the car, we tried to make the best of it. We sang, we played games, and thought about positive things.

We didn't make it home, the traffic was so bad, my sister couldn't drive any further. We checked in to the nearest small hotel and checked out 4 am.

What a night and what an experience...surely unforgettable.

PS : When I read the newspaper this morning, there was an earthquake in Sumatra, a volcanic mountain in Jogjakarta is going to erupt soon,many have been evacuated and it happened yesterday the same time when almost all Jakartans stucked in traffic. And somehow...I'm grateful..I'm still luckier..

I Need Some Serious Dancing

Yeap, I need some dancing here. It has been too much weight training and just body combat. And this week was supposed to be "dance week" for me. But I only made it one, which was last Monday.
On Tuesday and Thursday when I usually have my dance classes, the instructors are covered with lame ones. So, I didn't bother to join. However, I used my time in the gym to do weight training.

Today is Sunday, I very often go to the gym on Sundays..but today is just so boring and I don't feel like carrying my heavy gym bag. It's been many weeks of Sunday I have never absent going to the gym and do Body Combat. Now, I get too fed up and I need dancing!!

My mood hasn't been good as well. I really need dancing. Dancing releases my stress, express myself, somehow dancing is the bond between me and friends. Dancing is always been good exercise for me.

Ohh..I need dancing, especially hip hop. I saw Step Up 3D the other day and how I want to dance.

Losing Weight and Weight Training

I see lots of people, especially women gone through a rigorous cardio exercise for hours and hours. Well, I was one of them too. My belief that time, in order to lose weight fast is join lots and lots of aerobic classes. Two years later, weight training came to my life and I lost weight by doing weight training.

You see, losing weight involves many aspects, not just hours on treadmill, counting your calories intake, or starving yourself.

Let's say you happen to be quite obese and you have a high percentage of body fat. I used to be in that situation; I know what it feels like. Underneath that body fat you actually have a very strong skeleton and strong muscles. Your body has built up those muscles in order to carry all of that extra body fat when you move your body. Just the very act of standing up, walking across a parking lot, going up a flight of stairs or lifting your arms requires more effort when you're overweight, especially if you're obese. So the heavier you are, the stronger your muscles have to be just to allow you to do basic, everyday things.

Now this can actually work to your advantage -- if you manage to keep all of that muscle mass and bone density in place while you are losing body fat, then you can maintain the high metabolism that's associated with that lean body mass even while you are dropping body fat. But if you starve yourself, you're going to lose all the muscle resources you already have. It's a mistake a lot of people make. They try to lose body fat by starving themselves, and as the body fat vanishes from their body, their muscle mass also disappears. Why would the body get rid of muscle mass? Because, frankly, it doesn't need it.

The solution to all of this, the strategy I want to focus on here, is to engage in strength training while you are losing body fat. If you do this, then you will be able to maintain the muscle mass that you already have underneath your body fat while you are in the process of losing the fat. This will leave you with a greater proportion of lean body mass to body fat, meaning that you will be slimmer, yet you'll have the muscles that you had when you were overweight.

If you get rid of enough body fat in this way, then those muscles may begin to show -- if you're a man. If you're a woman, don't worry. You're never going to bulk up. A lot of women are mistakenly afraid of strength training. They think that if they pump a few weights they're going to turn into Lou Ferrigno overnight. They think they're going to have this competition muscle-bound body from lifting a couple of weights. Believe me, that is not the case at all. Most of those bodybuilding women are using steroids, and they've trained for years, even decades, just to produce that kind of muscle mass. Women are not built to puts on lots of muscle mass, so don't be afraid that you'll bulk up. Women who are afraid of exercising because they think it's going to make them look bigger have it all wrong.

The benefit doing this is that strength training will greatly increase the speed of your weight loss effort. It will double the effectiveness of any weight loss program you're on. Losing weight by calorie restriction alone is very, very difficult. In fact, personally, I've never been able to do that. The only way I've been able to lose body fat is to engage in exercise that includes both a strength training component and a cardiovascular component. My belief is that you cannot keep weight off just by modifying your diet alone, unless you happen to be extremely gifted with just the right genes that don't ever turn on the hunger signal for you. If you're in that situation, good for you. But you should probably think about exercising anyway, because of the other cardiovascular health and brain chemistry benefits that are derived from frequent exercise.

Find a way to start strength training today, and your body will immediately start showing results

What To Do After Workout?

Many of us have a great workout routine. We drink plenty of water, warm up, stretch, work the entire body, and even get in some cardio. Then, after the last exercise, we promptly head back to the locker room, change, and journey home.

But it's not just that, what happen after minutes and hours after workout? The way you treat your body after workout might has direct effect on muscle soreness, strength, and growth and staying hydrated.

Here are what you have to do after workout :

Cool Down : This brings your heart rate down at a slow and steady pace, which helps you avoid feeling sick after a workout. Walking on a treadmill for five minutes is a good and easy way to cool down.

Stretch: Stretching allows your muscles to rebuild, growing bigger and stronger, and thus allows you to get the full benefit from your efforts.

Drink Water: It's recommended that you drink another 2-3 cups within two hours after you have finished exercising.

Exercise Extra: The longer you cool down after a workout, the less sore you will be the following day. So before you head home, make you sure you do what suggested above for maximum result of your training.

To get maximum result of your exercise, keep in mind to do the things above before you head home.

How Can I Resist Burger King?

Call it as guilty pleasure. Last night, after 2 hours of exercise and 1 body combat class, the power of Burger King was calling me. My feet instantly moving to the restaurant.

Yep, I know..it should've been exercise first then have those junk food. But, I haven't have junk food for 2 months now. So I guess it's alright *justifying myself mode*

I know too that Burger King is not a healthy choice for dinner. It's high in sugar ( free flow of frozen coke, with same price ),high in simple carbohydrates, high in fat, high sodium. None of them are good for the body.

In my defense, now I go to the gym 5 times a week. So having guilty pleasure it's fine once and a while. As long not everyday or every week..make it like every month or so.

OMG I Haven't Been Posting Anything!!!!

Ohhh my gosh...shame on me...claiming myself has a passion in writing but has been ages not to post in my own blog. Shame...shame..what a shame. But at least I have valid reason why I haven't been posting :

1. Simply because I ran out of ideas what to write
2. I was too lazy to write
3. I've been busy to write

A news flash for you people...now I'm teaching salsa and kickboxing for my fellow colleagues. Well..umm...the money not so good, but it's a good experience and challenge to teach something that I really like. However, how to teach salsa and kickboxing are in my list what of I need to learn.

90 Days Motivational Program : Day 2

Now I'm on day 2 of my program. I gave a little twist to my usual routine exercise. If even during holidays I go to the gym in afternoons, today I did it in early morning, 8AM. A new experience and good to avoid boredom.

I'm working on my lower body parts, which are gluteus, hamstring and quadricep muscles. Training with machines still convenient for me instead of free weight. Before, working on the targeted muscles, the very must thing to do is 30 minutes cardio and wrap up with 15 minutes to cool down.

I'm still having fun with my motivational program and the hardest part of this program is maintaining the motivation and enthusiasm to focus with my exercises.

90 Days Motivational Program

The program is designed exclusively by me and used by me. Although it's still in scratch, the countdown starts as December 27, 2009. Since today is Sunday, where I usually spend hours and hours in the gym. The kick-off, I think, it's pretty awesome. I started ecliptical machine for 15 minutes ( high resistance ), as my body got warmed up, I focused on my chest, back, triceps, abs and a bit of shoulder muscles.

Lots of time spare before Body Combat class, I broke down my exercises into :

Chest :
- Smith incline chest press
- Inclined dumbell chest fly
- Dumbell chest press

Back :
- Barbell good morning
- Rowing
- Back up

Abs :
- Ball sit - ups
- Torso rotation

For shoulder I only did shoulder press. And when I looked at the time, I stil had 1.5 hours before my Body Combat class. So, I used 30 minutes walking on the treadmill and 1 hour to rest.

I'm pretty happy with my exercise today and feeling positive about my own motivational program.

Oh yeah, you must be curious what's this all 90 Days Motivational Program ? Well, people I'm going to UK next March for 2 weeks holiday. Yaaaayyyy!!!!!!!!! And I want to look stunning in all my pictures.

So, I have 90 days, which is the very sensible time length to see the outcome.
Wish me luck, peeps!

Cheap Entertainment

Need some good time? Just go to the gym, have a exercise!..Yeah..yeah...we've heard that for many many many times. Yes, I even have to drag myself to go there, going up on those machines for warming up or burning some calories. But in the end..I feel good about myself.

I don't go to the gym just for losing weight, it's something that can't be stopped. It becomes a habit. If I don't go for one week, I feel my body very heavy, lazy, bored, depressed and very lazy to move.

Again it's about giving a kick in the butt, don't let the lazy mood get over you. And you will find, exercise is the cheap entertainment, healer for body and soul. Why so? Imagine the amount you pay for clubbing or buy foods, then think about the impact to your body? It's just temporary. But, exercise? with the monthly fee you pay, you can go exercise any time you want. The result...healthy feeling, detoxicated, you'll sleep better and who knows you'll lose weight.

It's better to be healthy, faboulous, fit and less sad right ?

Getting Back On The Track

Whether you are just recovered from your illness, been lazy going to the gym, birth of a chile hitting the plateau or anything that stop you from exercise. Going back is a challenge. You either can be unmotivated or very eager to start.

Although long long time ago you were a top athlete or top gym freak, your fitness level won't be the same as you were before. Your muscle mass is different from now and then. Your metabolism has changed. Thus, it's wise if you consult with physician before you start, especially for those who has just recovered from an illness. For the first goal for your comeback, just make exercise as a habit first.

Starting easy, don't be too hard on yourself. You'll get your pace.

Do some gym walking, perhaps your old gym already a little bit too rusty. Perhaps there are new gyms that just opened.

Find out why you stopped going to the gym earlier? Discover new you by making fitness program that suit you. Hire a personal trainer if necessary. He/she can help you when things get rough.

And don't forget to keep track of your progress.

Welcome back to healthy life.....

You're Going To Get Beat Up Along The Way

Life is not a success-only journey. You're going to get beat up along the way

I found this quote while writing my journal, then on the way to the gym, I thought that this quote can be applicable on losing weight or keeping fit. Well, it's not literally that you'll get beat up during your losing weight process or maintaining you weight until you have bruises and stuffs.

Here's the thing, after the long hours of exercise and training, I attained my losing weight goal. But turn out it's just one success, it must be followed by maintaining it, and that's what I interpretation of "to get beat up along the way. "

How so? Because maintaining my success story is the hardest part. Imagine when I hit the plateau. Imagine when I'm soooo lazy to go to the gym, no motivation. Imagine when my crave for fatty food is extremely high.

The journey of losing weight and/or keeping fit doesn't stop just when we reached one success. Just consider we have reached one level then we continue to the next level. Another challenges come along. And that's the time for you to get beat up along the way.

But that's not you should worry, take it as a challenge, take it as "the rainbow" of your keeping fit journey.

To Walk For

For some walking is an exercise that considered not important. You might say, this type exercise only burn little calorie. But don't underestimate the impact of walking. If you don't know how to begin to exercise, walking is the very first step.

It's the easiest exercise, low risk of injury and very cheap. You only need a pair of comfortable shoes. But I do wear sandals for walking to the bus shelter. The biggest challenge is motivation and developing a habit. Well..I get bored of walking sometimes but I always put in my mind, this is for my own good and try to enjoy the morning air.

Like all types of exercise, the key is start slowly and increase gradually. Try with short distance and short lenght of time. After you have formed a habit, you might want walking all the time and the distance you have passed so far will seem very short for you.

To maximize your walking, keep your posture right. Think of elongating your body. Tighten your abs muscles and buttocks.

Have a nice walk!